California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project Planning for Habitat

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project

Planning for Habitat Connectivity

Why? Nature needs room to roam. Connected habitat reserves provide for: § Movement by individuals to access resources in home range § Seasonal migration § Immigration and emigration within metapopulations, allowing for demographic rescue § Gene flow. Areas with genetic variability area more likely to facilitate evolution as the environment changes. § Recolonization after local extinction § Population movement in response to disasters or changing climate § Ecological processes such as disturbance, predator-prey interactions, and seed dispersal

How? Habitat connectivity can take many forms.

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Products n statewide wildlife habitat connectivity map and model n assessment of the biological value of identified connectivity areas n strategic plan to supplement the map and help end users interpret it

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Goals

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: n complies or is consistent with recent legislation. AB 2785 (2008) requires CDFG to map essential wildlife corridors and habitat linkages. SB 85 (2007) requires CDFG to develop vegetation and wildlife habitat mapping standards.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: n complies or is consistent with recent legislation. Section 6001 of the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU) of 2005 requires that environmental resource impacts be considered in the transportation planning process. Avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures must be identified.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: for Fish and Game, will help expand the State Wildlife Action Plan. Connectivity is identified as a key action both statewide and in 4 of 8 terrestrial ecoregions, but there is no map of key linkages and no list of priorities.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: for Caltrans and regional transportation agencies, will inform policy and provide standardized data for integrating transportation planning with connectivity planning.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: promotes opportunities for integrated planning among all entities that acquire or regulate or influence wildlife habitat across the state.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: builds upon earlier efforts. Missing Linkages (2001) invited experts to identify linkages at risk in a workshop setting. However, linkages were not prioritized and some were found to be missing.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: is transparent scientificallydefensible and repeatable.

Produce a statewide assessment of essential habitat connectivity that: provides a methodology for connectivity analysis at finer scales than statewide.

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Approach

Biological Values Matrix

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Key Decisions

1) Define the analysis area. Analysis area will be the State of California plus a flexible buffer into adjacent states.

2) Define the areas to be connected - a. k. a. Natural Landscape Blocks (NLBs) or “blobs”. n Use areas of high ecological integrity. n Use 6, 000 acre minimum to start. n Use a relatively fine resolution (100 m pixel). Note: Graphic is for display purposes only.

§ Use statewide and readily available spatial data sets as model inputs. Land conversion Residential housing impacts Road effects Forest structure (where applicable)

§ Modify slightly based on conservation status and biological value. GAP 1 & 2 Essential and designated critical habitat Wetlands/vernal pools “Hotspots” for amphibians, reptiles, mammals and plants Areas of Critical Biological Concern

A total of 850 Natural Landscape Blocks of 2, 000 to 3. 7 million acres were identified.

3) Define the Essential Connectivity Areas (ECAs) or “sticks” to connect the “blobs”.

§ Use a least-cost corridor method of connecting wildland blocks. § Use the centroid of each wildland block as a corridor terminus. § Use an inverse of ecological integrity as the resistance surface (alternative would be to define by focal species). § Add buffered river corridors where they are not already included.

A total of 192 linkage polygons were modeled using this method. Rule sets were established for which blocks to connect using nearest neighbor and network analyses. An additional 552 “road mitigation sticks” and 31 “inter-state sticks” were identified but not modeled.

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Resulting Statewide Map

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Comparison of Results to Existing Connectivity Analyses and Conservation Networks

Examples of Statewide Comparisons § Existing Conservation Network and Other Major Landholders § Missing Linkages (2001) § Network of Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCPs) and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) § The Nature Conservancy Ecological Priorities The California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project captured 76% of protected lands.

Example of Regional Comparison Regional Conservation Network for Central Valley Ecoregion (Huber et al. , 2010) The California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project captured 63% of these combined core reserves and linkages. Those not captured were likely too small or fragmented to be captured by the scale of the statewide analysis.

Example of Local Comparison South Coast Missing Linkages (Penrod et al. , 2003) The California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project captured 81% of the designed linkages.

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Products

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Products In addition to the statewide map …

§Methodology for statewide analysis §Frameworks Strategic Plan for how to conduct regional and local scale analyses §Framework for road mitigation §Strategy for integration with conservation and infrastructure planning §Plan for data distribution

Assessment of Connectivity Areas Non-biological measures were taken of each Essential Connectivity Area (ECA).

Assessment of Connectivity Areas Elevation profiles were completed for each Essential Connectivity Area (ECA).

Assessment of Connectivity Areas Biological measures were taken of each Essential Connectivity Area (ECA).

California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project: Intended Uses

First … What It Is Not n A planning tool for conservation and transportation. § A regulation that dictates land use for any public or private entity. n Broad scale and encompassing the entire state of California. The minimum size of a habitat (natural landscape) block identified analyzed for connectivity with any other habitat block is 10, 000 acres. § Fine scale, with every important piece of habitat identified. Small reserves may not show up on the statewide map, because of the scale of analysis. The map and strategy do not suggest these reserves are unimportant, only that they are more appropriate pieces for a regional or local level strategy to conserve connectivity.

First … What It Is n “Essential”, meaning important, connectivity areas. n A modeled analysis using the ecological condition or integrity of the landscape to identify areas of essential connectivity. What It Is Not § “Essential”, meaning the only places of importance. Do not assume lands not identified are unimportant. § A solution by itself for how to provide necessary linkages for any given species of plant or animal. Linkage designs will vary depending on focal species chosen and the goal of providing connected habitat for a chosen species might be met several different ways.

Statewide Strategy: Conservation (Chapter 7) § State Wildlife Action Plan n Provide a data set to complement the plan, which identifies connectivity as a key action for wildlife. § Land Acquisition Planning n Use with Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) II for prioritization, for example. § California Climate Change Adaptation Strategy n Use as a base layer and enhance with further analysis. Connectivity is a primary strategy for accommodating shifts in species ranges

Statewide Strategy: Infrastructure (Chapter 7) n California Transportation Plan 2035 (California Interregional Blueprint) § California Water Plan n Use as a data layer for integrated infrastructure and conservation planning.

Regional and Local Strategy: Conservation (Chapter 7) § Natural Community n Facilitate connectivity of reserves within and across planning boundaries n Focus management actions in locations where connectivity could be maintained, enhanced, or restored. Conservation Plans (NCCPs) and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) § Regional Land Management Planning

Regional and Local Strategy: Infrastructure (Chapter 7) n California Regional Blueprint Planning n Mitigation Planning n Infrastructure Improvements n Project Specific Connectivity § Use as a framework for regional and local level analyses. § Strategically site mitigation in places where it can enhance connectivity. § Inform programming, alternatives, and mitigation estimates n Reduce roadkill/operational effects.

Framework for Considering Roads (Chapter 6) n 850 Natural Landscape Blocks n 744 pairs within California n 552 of them separated only by a road

Framework for Considering Roads (Chapter 6): Avoidance Initial concept Avoidance

Framework for Considering Roads (Chapter 6): Minimization Initial concept Crossing structures

Types of Crossing Structures Good for elk and mule deer Good for pronghorn Good for small mammals and amphibians

Spacing of Crossing Structures One per mile One per quarter mile

Why are there many different solutions? n Species Considerations n n Site Constraints n n n resource/access needs predator/prey relationships size topography water existing road substrate Design Considerations n n fencing lighting

More Information: California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project Websites http: //www. dfg. ca. gov/habcon/connectivity http: //www. dot. ca. gov/hq/env/bio/program_efforts. htm Wildlife Crossing Guidance Manual http: //www. dot. ca. gov/hq/env/bio/wildlife_crossings. htm